Insulated rail-joint.



N0.767,2o6 v vPfyrENTEDAUG?. 9, 1904. AB. A. GONDIT, JB.

INSULATBD RAIL'JOINT.

- APPLICATION Hmm JAN. 27; 1904.' I

l No MODEL.

- .f// ATTORNEY..

UNTTED STATES Patented August 9, 1904 PATENT OEEICE.

EDWARD A. CONDIT. JR., OE NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE CONTINUOUS RAIL JOINT COMPANY OF AMERICA, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

INSU LATED RAIL-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,206, dated August 9, 1904.

Application filed January 27, 1904. Serial No. 190,768. (No model.)

To LH whom it may concern.-

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The objects of this invention are to provide an insulated rail-joint whichl shall firmly and securely join the meeting ends of the rails, to secure a solid seating upon the base-flange of the rail and a gripping of said flanges by the {ish-plates, to combine with the use of wooden insulating blocks or billets for the web of the rail and sheet insulation for the base-ange of the rail a connecting-plate which shall separate the said insulations and hold each firmly in place against the rail, to enable wear of all parts to be readily taken up by tightening the bolts, to secure a simple construction which can be readily rolled, and to obtain other advantages and results, some of which shall be hereinafter referred to in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved railway-rail joint and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like figures of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the views, Figure 1 is a cross-sectional View of a railway-rail joint embodying my invention, and Eig. 2 is an elevation of a connecting-plate from its inner side. Y

In said drawings is shown a rail end having base-flanges 2 2, vertical web 3, and a head 4. On opposite sides of the said web 3 are arranged insulating-blocks 5 5, each of which tits at its upper edge 6 beneath the head 4. of

the rail and is inclined or beveled at its lower edge 7 upwardly outward and adapted to receive the fish-plate or connecting-plate, as hereinafter described.

The lateral flanges 2 2 of the rail-base are each inclosed by sheet insulation 8, wrapped therearound, said 4insulation extending at its upper edge to the web 3 of the rail and at its lower edge to about the middle of the under side of the rail-base.

The fish-plates are then applied to hold said blocks and sheet insulation in place and at the same time firmly grasp the rail, as shown in the drawings. Said plates are of the continuous type, comprising in general a doubled the rail and an upright or vertical portion to lie against the insulating blocks or billets, transverse bolts 9 being passed through said upright portions, insulating blocks or billets, and the web of the rail and serving to bind the whole joint firmly together, as is common.

In its detail construction, however, my improved connecting-plate embodies certain features not before contained in connecting-plates and which I will next proceed to describe. The doubled portion of the {ish-plate comprises a lower member 10, adapted to extend horizontally beneath the base-liange of the rail and provide a seat for the same, the outer edge of the doubled portion being reduced, as at 1l, to form a spiking-iiange. From between said rail-seatV 10 and spiking-flange 11 the upper member of the doubled portion eX- tends upwardly, as at 12, and is then bent laterally inward to overlie and press against the marginal portion of the upper surface of the base-fiange of the rail, as at I13. Said portion 13 does not extend very far in over the basefiange of-therail, but is again bent upward to form an upright portion 14., adapted to lie against the outer side of the insulating-block 5 and being perforated to receive the transverse clamping-bolts 9.

At the inner side of the lower part of the upright portion 14 thus described is a longitudinal rib 15, said rib being in cross-section tapering or wedge-shaped and of such length .base portion adapted to grasp the flange of that its point or edge reaches nearly to the web of the rail. Of the sides of this rib the under or lower face 16 is in substantially the same plane with the inner face of the inclined portion 13 of the upper member of the doubled portion of the base-plate and is thus adapted to fit against the top of the base-flange of the rail. The upper side or face 17 of the rib is beveled to correspond to the lower edge 7 of the insulatingblock or billet 5, before described.

When, therefore, the {ish-plates are clamped against the opposite sides of the rail-joint, the said inwardly-projecting wedge-shaped ribs 15 are driven or forced between the insulating-blocks 5 and the base-anges 2 of the rail or the sheet insulation thereof, and thus the blocks 5 are firmly pressed upward against the under side of the head of the rail and the sheet insulation at the same time pressed close against the top of the base-flange. This action, in conjunction with the support of the lower member l() of the connecting-plate and its vertical portion 14, secures not only a firm and solid holding of both insulations, but also securely clamps the rail itself, so that a joint of great solidity is obtained. Moreover, any looseness from wear or other cause is readily taken up by the clamping-bolts 9 forcing the wedge-shaped ribs 15 inward between the blocks 5 above and the base-flange beneath.

Obviously the longitudinal cross-sectional forms may be given other than the detail conformation shown in the drawings and positively described, and I desire my claims to be construed as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new isM l. A railway-rail-joint-eonnecting plate, having' a lower portion adapted to engage the base-liange of a rail, an upwardly-projecting upper portion, and a rib at the inner face of said upper portion, wedge-shaped in cross-section.

2. A railway railjointconnecting plate,

having a lower portion adapted to engage the base-fiange of a rail, an upwardly-projecting upper portion, and a rib at the junction of said lower portion and upper portion, tapered in cross-section.

3. A railway-rail-joint-connecting plate, having a' doubled portion adapted to receive the base-flange of a rail, an upper vertical por'- tion, and an inwardly-projecting tapering rib at the junction of said doubled lower portion and upper vertical portion.

4e. In a rail-joint, the combination with a rail, of an insulating-block fitted against the web and head of the rail and having its lower edge beveled upwardly outward, sheet insulation on the base-flange of the rail, and a .lishplate having a lower portion engaging the outer margin of said sheet insulation of the base-flange,y an upright portion lying against the said insulating-block and a longitudinallyextending rib at the lower portion of the inner face of said upright portion, said rib being wedge-shaped in cross-section and adapted to bear at its opposite faces against the lower edge of the insulating-block and upper surface of the sheetinsulation upon the baseflange, respectively.

5. In a rail-joint, the combination with a rail, of an insulating-block fitted against the web and head of the rail and having its lower edge above the base-ange, sheet insulation upon said base-flange, and a fish-plate having a lower portion engaging the outer margin of said insulated base-flange, an upper portion lying against the outer side of the insulatingblock, and a longitudinal rib at the junction of said upper and lower portions, having' an inclined under side, and lying between the insulating-block and the base-flange of the rail.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 25th day of January, 1904.

EDVARD A. CONDIT, JR. l/Vitnesses:

CHARLES H. PnLL, RUSSELL M. EVERETT. 

